Central Catholic cruises past Lakeridge, setting up ‘inevitable’ showdown with West Linn in 6A semifinals: 5 takeaways
HILLSBORO — Behind its bevy of talent on both sides of the ball, a punishing defense and multi-talented senior quarterback Cru Newman, Central Catholic did what it does best.
The fourth-seeded Rams of Southeast Portland ran away with a 42-6 victory over No. 5 Lakeridge in a Class 6A state quarterfinal Friday night at Hillsboro Stadium. It sets the inevitable stage for what many believe is a semifinal matchup pitting the two best teams in Oregon next week in Central Catholic and West Linn.
“It feels good, but we know we got more business to handle,” Newman said.
The Rams advance to their seventh state semifinal appearance since 2011 and have their eyes set on reaching the state championship game for the third time in the past five seasons.
Newman dominated the game through the air and on the ground, completing 18 of 26 passes for 245 yards and three touchdowns. He rushed for 81 yards on seven carries with two touchdowns, proving once again his status as one of the best players in the state.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Rams flipped the switch and finished with six touchdowns on their final six drives against a banged-up Lakeridge team. Sophomore Tyson Davis scored twice — on a 20-yard pass in the second quarter to open the scoring and an 8-yard run midway through the third to give the Rams a 28-0 advantage.
Sophomore tight end Andreas Nicolaidis and senior Pomer Davison caught touchdown passes to help Central Catholic improve to 11-0. Lakeridge’s season ends with an 8-3 record.
Photos by Joel Conrad Bechtolt
Here are five takeaways from Friday night’s matchup:
Rare game ball handed out to Newman
Central Catholic coach Steve Pyne did something he’s done only one other time since joining the Rams program in 2003.
In the team’s postgame huddle, Pyne proudly announced to his players that Newman set a program record for passing touchdowns with 96 following his 32-yard completion to senior wide receiver Pomer Davison with 3:45 left in the fourth quarter.
Newman received the game ball from Pyne, who recalls the only other occasion he handed out a game ball being in 2010 after the team lost its top two quarterbacks to injuries and saw freshman Aidan Wilder unexpectedly step in to help beat Canby, 28-24.
“Pretty special for me to give one away — and they’re expensive, so I don’t want to give them away,” said Pyne, laughing.
Friday marked Newman’s 38th start at quarterback out of 44 games played in his high school career.
“It just shows a lot of hard work and persistence on his part — and durability, right?” Pyne said. “He’s just smart with the football. I don’t know why any (college) hasn’t offered that kid a scholarship; it’s just abominable.”
Newman described the moment as “super awesome.”
“It doesn’t just go to me, but all the teammates and coaches over the years,” Newman said. “So, I thank them the most. I’ll for sure cherish this moment and remember it.”
West Linn is next: “It was inevitable”
Central Catholic and defending state champion West Linn have been on a collision course to meet in the postseason, although many thought it’d come in the state championship game.
But because the OSAA rankings placed the Rams at No. 4 and West Linn at No. 1, the much-anticipated matchup will happen next week in the semifinals instead.
“We knew we were going to face them,” Newman said. “It was inevitable. We’re going to have to play them anyway, so why not now? They’re an incredible team. We’re excited for the challenge.”
Pyne said there’s a big level of respect between the two programs.
“Obviously, they’ve been the No. 1 team the entire way,” Pyne said. “We have our absolute work cut out for us. Coach (Jon) Eagle has a great staff. As a matter of fact, they have four guys who used to be on my staff, so there’s some certain respect and love between those guys and us.
“We’ll do our best to control them and contain them. I don’t know if we can, but we have to play as clean as possible to win that game.”
West Linn knocked out Central Catholic in last season’s semifinals with a 49-17 win in a game in which Newman threw three of his nine career interceptions and a running clock was activated in the second half.
“The energy was low,” Newman recalls. “Everything was low; we were all low. We never really found a spark, and we’ve got to find a spark this game. Everyone does their job, and we’ll be good.”
Pyne said he’s embracing the challenge ahead.
“They’re a different team than they were last year personnel-wise,” he said. “But they’re still really, really talented. Their O-line is real good, their quarterback seems to be pretty heady and quick to get the ball out. Defensively, Coach (Anthony) Newman has those guys flying around like he always does.”
Rams ‘outcoached’ themselves at the start
After a 0-0 score in the first quarter raised a few eyebrows with wonder if Lakeridge could hang in, Pyne said his staff decided to change the offensive approach.
Rather than adjust to Lakeridge’s defense, the Rams went back to what works — run their plays like they drew it up.
“We made a couple checks on what they were doing, and we saw it,” Pyne said. “We adjusted, then they adjusted. We just outcoached ourselves in the first quarter with those adjustments, so we just said forget it. Just run the play that was called, and it went better.”
After Central Catholic’s first two series ended with a three-and-out and a lost fumble, the offense found its groove by scoring touchdowns on all six drives to end the game.
Sophomore Killian Sombe had a game-high 64 yards on 12 carries, junior Zhaiel Smith added three catches for 45 yards, and junior Landon Kelsey had three receptions for 34 yards.
“We just stuck to our game,” Newman said. “We were doing too much before, trying to outplay the defense. We started clicking and taking what the defense gave us.”
Central Catholic’s defense still stingy
Against Oregon teams, the Rams have averaged 52.7 points per game. Defensively, they’ve allowed 60 points combined in their past 10 games.
Senior Timmy Mitchell had two interceptions, including one in the second quarter after Lakeridge reached midfield. The other came on the Pacers’ third play to open the second half.
Mitchell said practice scrimmages have been a big help.
“We give it our all,” Mitchell said. “Our offense gives us hard work and we’re giving the offense hard work. That just motivates us to get better.”
Pyne gave credit to defensive coordinator Matt Jones, who suggested moving Mitchell to safety from cornerback before the season.
“I was like, ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea,’” Pyne said. “But I said, ‘I’m going to trust you,’ and I’m glad I trusted him because Timmy is all over the place. He’s a special player, and why he doesn’t have any college offers is beyond me.”
Lakeridge: “Just sad” to see the season end
Friday marked the Pacers’ fourth consecutive appearance in the state quarterfinals under coach Spencer Phillips.
But more important for Phillips, it was seeing his seniors play their final game after watching them come in as freshmen.
“This is the first group I had here,” he said. “So, it’s a lot of real good memories with these kids. Just so many great young men you have to say bye to. When it ends, it ends. Just sad.”
Lakeridge entered the game banged up. The Pacers were already without sophomore standout running back Ansu Sanoe, who injured an ankle against West Linn in Week 7.
They had many other key players battling and playing through injury, including senior receiver Joey Olsen (foot), senior linebacker Tashi Crofut (shoulder) and senior quarterback Gabe Motschenbacher (elbow).
“We had a lot of guys that were hurt, but that’s just who they are,” Phillips said. “It sucks and it’s sad. Great people, great teammates and great leaders. I’m going to miss this class a lot.”
Compounding the issue was the Pacers’ inability to get in play calls in a timely manner because their wristbands with the playbook were not opening, forcing the team to take two delay-of-game penalties in the first half.
“In the heat of the battle, it was just really frustrating,” Phillips said. “Now that I can think about it, it’s just, ‘Oh well.’ It is how it is. We had a real rough second quarter. We had too many penalties, and you just can’t do that against that team.”
Motschenbacher finished 5 of 11 for 77 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore Noah Tishendorf led the Pacers with 34 yards on 10 carries, and senior Luke Womack had two catches for 43 yards and the team’s only touchdown on a 13-yard pass. Olsen, a USC commit, finished with two catches for 13 yards.
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Central Catholic 42, Lakeridge 6
Lakeridge – 0 – 0 – 0 – 6 — 6
Central Catholic – 0 – 21 – 14 – 7 — 42
Second quarter
10:59 CC - Tyson Davis 20 pass from Cru Newman (Zeke Van’t Hof PAT)
3:16 CC - Andreas Nicolaidis 2 pass from Newman (Van’t Hof PAT)
1:06 CC - Newman 1 run (Van’t Hof PAT)
Third quarter
8:41 CC - Davis 8 run (Van’t Hof PAT)
4:04 CC - Newman 13 run (Van’t Hof PAT)
Fourth quarter
11:48 L - Luke Womack 13 pass from Gabe Motschenbacher (PAT missed)
3:45 CC - Pomer Davison 32 pass from Newman (Van’t Hof PAT)
Statistics
Passing: Lakeridge - Gabe Motschenbacher 5-11, 77, TD, 2 INTs, Drew Weiler 2-4, 9 ; Central Catholic - Cru Newman 18-26, 245, 3 TDs
Rushing: Lakeridge - Noah Tishendorf 10-34, Jaden Swan 3-20, Shanko Kornachuk 4-11, Weiler 1-3, Zyon Floyd 2-0, Tashi Crofut 1-0; Central Catholic - Newman 7-81, 2 TDs, Tyson Davis 1-8, TD, Killian Sombe 12-64, D’Marieon Gates 1-3
Receiving: Lakeridge - Luke Womack 2-43, TD, Jaden Tragesser 3-30, Joey Olsen 2-13; Central Catholic - Davis 2-44, TD, Andreas Nicolaidis 5-50, TD, Pomer Davison 1-32, TD, Zhaiel Smith 3-45, Landon Kelsey 3-34, Sombe 1-16, Tommy Pempel 1-17, Gates 2-7
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